BudgetCrunch

Karina Borg Peter Kronfeld Sean McCarty || ||
 * < =Budget Crunch U.=

Overview
You are the President of Big State University. Your Governor has slashed funding for higher education by $100 million and now you have to figure out how to cut 10% from your annual budget. The faculty, staff and students are up in arms about the prospect of pay cuts, layoffs and higher tuition.

In Budget Crunch U. you make the decisions that will help Big State U. weather the storm of budget cuts. You decide if you cut salaries and by how much. Or do you raise tuition? Or lay off staff and faculty? Increase class sizes? Whatever you decide determines whether Big State U. can maintain its prestige and continue to be an attractive option for faculty, staff and prospective students.

How to Win
In order to win Budget Crunch U., a player must navigate four full years as President, three of them budget cut years. The player must be careful to always maintain an acceptable retention rate of students and overall approval rating (acceptable range will vary depending on level of difficulty). If at any point the retention rate of students or the overall approval rating dips below acceptable levels the President may be fired and the player will have to re-start the game or revert to a previous saved stage. Once a player successfully completes four years, he/she can restart the game to attempt high scores in student graduation rates and approval ratings.

**Learners and Instructional Objectives**
Budget Crunch U. is most appropriate for adults and teenagers, particularly high school students with future college plans. The game is not for mature audiences only, however, young children may be not understand the complex financial and political context of the game. The target audience for the game is adults with current or previous affiliations with institutions of higher education. Specifically, the intent of the game is to educate adults and young adults about the myriad of factors that impact funding for public universities.

The goal of Budget Crunch U. is to raise raise awareness and elevate knowledge of public university finance and governance issues. Game players will be faced with several decisions that deal with the impact of budget cuts. Each decision made within the game will likely negatively affect at least one of the stakeholder groups, whether it be students, staff or faculty. As a result, the game player will learn the incredible challenge of managing a university budget in turmoil. The game player must learn how to adhere to a strict budget, all the while keeping in mind overall approval and student retention rates.

Specifically, game players will be able to identify how the following decisions affect students, staff and faculty during a budget crisis:
 * Raising or lowering staff and faculty salaries.
 * Adding or eliminating staff and faculty positions.
 * Raising or lowering student tuition and fees.
 * Raising or lowering department budgets.
 * Adding or cutting academic majors/programs.
 * Adding or cutting number of offered courses.
 * Raising or lowering class sizes (faculty to student ratio).
 * Raising or lowering fees associated with auxiliary services, such as housing, dining, bookstores and athletics.
 * Raising or lowering budget for physical plant and maintenance services.

Context of Use
Budget Crunch is a first-person navigation strategy game. The game is cerebral and requires the player to weigh the costs and benefits of a combination of decisions. The assets are the stakeholders-- the faculty, staff and students. The objects are the departments, offices and corresponding budget decisions.

Game play in a nutshell:
 * Informal learning tool; most appropriate classroom application is college-level public governance course.
 * Individual use; multiple player competition only through comparison of high scores.
 * Gameplay is on-going series of 48 months/cycles.
 * Several short sessions of gameplay are recommended, though longer, continuous sessions are possible.
 * Repeat play is possible; outcomes vary based on user decisions.

Benefits of iPhone
Budget Crunch U. is easily deployed in any location due to the mobile phone format. Budget Crunch U. takes advantage of the mobility of the iPhone by separating gameplay into 48 separate months/cycles. The duration of the game will likely take several hours to complete if the user thoughtfully weighs the consequences of each decision. However, a player can play a single cycle/month and then save the game. A player can literally play a cycle while standing in line at the DMV. The mobility of the iPhone helps combine the considerable challenge and time commitment of a tycoon game with the brief and enjoyable experience of a casual brain teaser. The combination of game play and platform create an ideal user experience. Budget Crunch U. is similar to other Tycoon games. The educational component of Budget Crunch U. more closely resembles the real-world complexities of SimCity and AirTycoon. Other tycoon games like Lemonade Stand and Fruit Juice Tycoon focus on entertainment value more than education and realism.
 * Competing Products**

Other Tycoon games for iPhone:
 * 1) [|Lemonade Stand Tycoon] - Manage a lemonade stand.
 * 2) [|SimCity] - Plan and manage a city.
 * 3) [|AirTycoon] - CEO of an international airline.
 * 4) [|Fruit Juice Tycoon] - Manage a juice stand.
 * 5) [|A Business Tycoon] - Buy and sell assets to turn a profit.
 * 6) [|Sims 2: University] - Control college students at a virtual university.

**Design Details**

You are the President. Your job is to:
 * Graduate "x" number of students in 4 years (percentage depends on level of difficulty).
 * Keep faculty, staff and students happy (tracked by approval ratings).
 * Maintain the prestige of the university.
 * Successfully navigate 48 months/cycles of tasks and budget decisions.


 * __Difficulty Level__**
 * 1) Hard: Flagship University
 * 2) Medium: Big State U.
 * 3) Easy: Regional State U.

//Description of Hard Level:// The expectations are greatest for the Flagship University. As President of the Flagship you will need to graduate 90% of the students after 4 years. You will also have to build a 75% overall approval rating by the end of year one and maintain it through the rest of the game or risk being fired. You also must maintain the prestige level of the university; if at any point Flagship University's prestige level is the same as Big State U. you risk being fired.

//Description of Medium Level:// The expectations are moderately high for Big State U. As President of Big State you will need to graduate 70% of the students after 4 years. You will also have to build a 65% overall approval rating by the end of year one and maintain it through the rest of the game or risk being fired. You also must maintain the prestige level of the university; if at any point Big State U.'s prestige level is the same as Regional State U. you risk being fired.

//Description of Easy Level:// The expectations are not as high for Regional State U., but be careful not to take your responsibilities lightly. As President of Regional State you will need to graduate 50% of the students after 4 years. You will also have to build a 55% overall approval rating by the end of year one and maintain it through the rest of the game or risk being fired. You also must maintain the prestige level of the university; if at any point Regional State U.'s prestige level is the same as nearby City College you risk being fired.

__**How to Accomplish Tasks**__ Gameplay begins at the end of July after the fiscal year budget has been set for the upcoming year. You have just been hired because the outgoing President saw the writing on the wall and wants nothing to do with the upcoming budget crunchs. However, the budget takes a full year to develop and vote on, so you cannot adjust the budget for Year One. Not to worry though, Year One is a normal year. There are only reports and rumors of budget cuts on the horizon.

Within each cycle the player will be presented with at least one task, sometimes multiple tasks depending on the time of year. The player will have to make a decision on how to best approach each task. To help make the decision(s), the player will likely review an assortment of data, such as the stated of the budget, current retention rates of students, current level of tuition and fees, and approval ratings of each stakeholder group. Once the player has made a decision, he/she can continue on to the next month, where the results of the decision can then be reviewed.

The example below illustrates how the game changes based on whether tuition rates are raised or lowered. Faculty, staff and student reactions may be similar, such as if tuition is not raised. However, the majority of the time, reactions will vary among the groups, such as if tuition is raised or lowered. Lastly, the overall approval rating and state of the budget is also affected by the each task. Oftentimes, the player will have to weigh whether the approval rating or the budget is more important. Additionally, since the budget has been slashed, there is no benefit to playing it safe. If the player tries to avoid negative reactions by keeping tuition the same, the budget will suffer because cuts HAVE to be made.

// **Each month:** // //Monthly Task:// At the beginning of each month, you will be prompted with your job tasks for the month. Sometimes your task will be regular and predictable. For instance, every August and December and May you will be prompted to set tuition and number of classes for the upcoming semester. Other months you will be prompted to make decisions about Orientation, Athletics, Housing or other university events and programs. What decision you make can potentially affect the university budget, approval ratings and prestige of the university.
 * Task for upcoming month
 * Review previous month's report
 * Home screen options



//Monthly Report:// Review approval ratings and prestige level of university. The impact of your decision on last month's task will be detailed here. The monthly report will also show the overall approval ratings as well as the different ratings from students, staff and faculty. Finally, you can also see whether the prestige level of the university is improving, stable or slipping.



//Home Screen Options// (available after each monthly report):
 * Reports: Approval ratings with faculty, staff and students and current prestige level of university
 * Meet with CFO: State of budget; report/predictions from CFO
 * Decisions: On-going news/tasks
 * Next: Go to Next Month
 * Load/Save
 * Help: Help/Tutorial



The beginning of each semester is unique from other monthly cycles because it will always require the user to make multiple decisions. In addition to unique, random monthly tasks, the player will need to make decisions on the weighty issues of student tuition and fees and the number of offered classes and number of faculty/staff positions. **
 * Each semester:
 * Adjust tuition: Raise or lower tuition before Fall, Spring and Summer semesters.
 * Adjust class schedule: Cut or add classes before Fall, Spring and Summer semesters.
 * Adjust faculty/staff positions: Moderate staffing decisions can be made regarding part-time staff and adjunct faculty. Cuts of salaried staff and faculty can only be made in fiscal year budget.

At the end of the fiscal year in July, the President must set the budget for the upcoming year. The President must decide how much money is allocated in each of the following areas:
 * Fiscal Year Budget:**
 * Faculty & staff salaries: Pay cuts or raises
 * Tuition: Cost per student for tuition and fees
 * Academic Departmental budgets: School of Education, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Fine Arts, Business School, Engineering, Graduate Division
 * Non-academic/Sponsored Activities: Student Activities & Clubs, Admissions & Orientation, etc
 * Auxiliary Services: Revenue generating entities, such as bookstores, housing, dining, and athletics
 * Physical plant: Maintenance and construction for buildings and grounds



// **__Game Cycles__** The full game from beginning to end consists of four years and 48 monthly cycles. The President will be prompted with 48 monthly tasks and will have to develop and implement 3 fiscal year budgets. Year One// – Months 1 - 12
 * 1) Regular year - budget cuts on the horizon
 * 2) Build up approval ratings
 * 3) Set the fiscal year budget for Year Two in July
 * 4) Retention rate reviewed at end of year; depends on level of difficulty

//Year Two// - Months 13 - 24
 * 1) Budget Crunch - first year of cuts; 10% of Year One budget
 * 2) Set the fiscal year budget for Year Three in July
 * 3) Minimum retention rate reviewed at end of year; depends on level of difficulty

//Year Three// – Months 25 - 36
 * 1) Budget Crunch - more cuts; 20% of Year One budget
 * 2) Set the fiscal year budget for Year Four in July
 * 3) Minimum retention rate reviewed at end of year; level depends on level of difficulty

//Year Four// – Months 37 - 48
 * 1) Budget Crunch - more cuts; 30% of Year One budget
 * 2) Minimum graduation rates reviewed at end of year; level depends on level of difficulty

//End of Game// - Budget Crunch ends
 * 1) If Graduation rates and approval rating benchmark is accomplished, you win the game!
 * 2) If Graduation rates and approval rating benchmark is not accomplished, you are fired and must start over.

__**Technical Specifications**__ **Motivational Issues**
 * Developed and deployed for Apple iPhone with software version 3.0 and above.
 * iPhone SDK package: Software package of Cocoa Touch, Media, Core Services and OS X Kernel to be used to develop the different elements of the game.
 * Graphics: Graphics will be developed in Photoshop in .png file format.
 * Audio: Audio will be limited to action sound FX and will not be critical to gameplay. Audio file formats will be .m4v.

Budget Crunch U.'s goal of running a university under difficult financial constraints will get the initial attention of our target audience, college-bound high school students and current college students. Sustaining that attention throughout the game will be accomplished by the surprising content (in an educational manner) of the frequent CFO reports (feedback) based on the player's input decisions. This is what Keller and Suzuki describe as startling, unexpected events that sustain curiosity. The constructive feedback will encourage continued play. Relevance comes into play for students who would be affected by these types of issues (faculty layoffs, cut classes, reduced student services, etc.) while attending college.

Malone and Lepper posit that cognitive curiosity is driven by a person's desire for a feeling of completeness in their knowledge structure. Players, especially our main target audience, will find that the game challenges their limited perspective by presenting the complexities of running a university with many competing demands. Choice and power are other intrinsic motivators that will engage the player as their decisions are what will control their progress through the game.

The varying levels of difficulty enables players to optimize the challenge, allowing beginners to play confidently. Success won't be guaranteed, but will be a direct result of their decisions. As an individual game, risks can be taken and mistakes can be made without adversely affecting social standing. Satisfaction will be maintained by feedback provided between phases of the game. This allows players to learn and adjust their strategies.

Motivation will also come from utilizing short-term goals (making optimal decisions in each round) as well as the ultimate goal of ending the game with high graduation rates, high approval ratings, and increasing the status of the university. The iPhone platform's access to social networks allows players motivated by social recognition to upload their scores and compete with friends and peers.

**Design Process**

The design process started with a simple idea inspired by the predicament many colleges are currently facing: how to stay true to the mission of a university in light of ever-shrinking budgets. Many people have opinions about how to run a college yet very few have a healthy appreciation for the variety of factors that impact a university and its budget. The purpose then of Budget Crunch U. is to educate people about university governance and finance.

The "tycoon" structure is a natural fit for the goal of Budget Crunch U. because it forces the player to make several decisions and then deal with the impact of each decision. The original concept was to focus on one year in the life of a university President. The player was have to manage every aspect of a university, from student tuition to faculty/staff salaries. The game would also educate the player on the fiscal year budget by focusing a great deal on how the budget evolves and develops over the course of the year. If the player could navigate the university through a full year of budget cuts and arrive at an acceptable fiscal budget for the next year, without sacrificing the college's quality and commitment to its mission, then the player would win.

However, our group feared that the original concept might have to narrow an appeal. The focus of the game was broadened to focus on (1) college students and (2) the human/emotional reaction to each decision. The scope of the game was changed from one year to four years. Dealing with a fiscal year budget was no longer the sole barometer of success. The number of cycles and tasks for the game did not change too dramatically. Instead of 52 weekly cycles and corresponding tasks, the game would now involve 48 monthly cycles and tasks.

The ultimate goal of the game was broadened to include the retention and graduation rates for a four year student cohort. The change was meant to heighten appeal for prospective, current and former college students. The game was also given a "man on the streets" aspect by detailing exactly how students, staff and faculty are affected by each budget decision. Instead of a single vague approval rating, a player would now be given feedback from virtual students who were upset about waiting in line to register and faculty who are having to sell their home because of salary cuts. Ultimately, the original goal for the game was maintained throughout the process. The biggest change was to broaden appeal for a larger audience. The intention of the changes were based on group discussions and instructor feedback. In the end, Budget Crunch U. became a game for players of all ages and interests, whether they be students or professors or simply people who believe they know how universities should be run.